How Do I Standardize Operations for My Franchise System?

Making the leap from business owner to franchisor means navigating the transition from selling a product or service to selling a system. The strategy and tools that made you successful must be clearly outlined, documented and made repeatable for someone else. As part of the larger franchise process, it’s important to consider how you will standardize operations across your system. Often, standardization is the difference between a brand that takes off and one that caves under its own weight. 

Exposing the Cracks: The Baseline

Before you even start to write the operations manual, you have to step back and take an objective look at the business. Understanding where the business stands is crucial to knowing what needs to be documented, how it should be communicated, and even what may need to change.

"For us, we've learned very quickly that franchising is a way to expose every little crack, every little flaw in the brand," said Marina Mentzel, founder and CEO of urSwim. "Systematizing and creating SOPs and operations is critical to minimize that impact for the franchisees."

Before you can scale, you have to find those cracks. The corporate locations can be used for experimentation. If a process feels clunky or relies on an in-the-moment gut feeling rather than a written step, the issues will only be magnified when people new to the business try to execute on the model. Building robust SOPs for business growth means identifying and filling those gaps before they have a chance to create issues.

Standardizing Your Most Valuable Asset

In the franchise space, the “product” — whether it’s a physical product or a service model — is delivered by a team, making human resources one of the most critical areas to systematize first. Even the best branding in the world can’t combat improper staffing and subpar brand experiences at the local level. 

If owners can’t effectively find, train and keep talent, the operation is already positioned to fail.

"One of the things we tackled first was onboarding: how to recruit, how to train and how to support our talent ... making sure that our operators and franchisees understand how to source them and how to train them is really critical," Mentzel said.

To achieve true franchise scalability, your operations manual needs to go beyond "how to flip the switch." It needs to support the franchisee in taking on the ownership and leadership roles, empowering them to make informed staffing decisions with the support, not the decision-making, of the franchisor behind them. Standardizing the recruitment and training process ensures that the customer experience remains consistent, whether in New York or California.

Creating Operational Alignment

Documentation is only half the battle. Once the playbook is provided, the focus then turns to operational alignment. Franchisees buy into the system because they want structure and support, but it’s still important to check in and ensure they’re truly following through on the playbooks provided.

Mentzel says proving the system through your own practices can be a key driver here. Rather than just telling franchisees what they should do, model it for them. Be “in it” with them on a day-to-day basis.

"It takes a lot of doing the due diligence, doing the work and making sure you are practicing what you're preaching at the corporate level and holding all franchisees accountable to those same standards."

This means your corporate operations must be the gold standard. If you aren't following your own SOPs, it’s difficult to expect a franchisee to do so. 

While it’s an important part of stepping into the franchise world, standardizing your operations isn't a "one-and-done" task you check off a list. It’s a living, breathing part of being a franchisor. You must stay aware of how the business operates on a regular basis and work to anticipate the needs of your franchisees before they even realize they have them. Done well, this gives franchisees a clear and effective North Star, along with the information and support they need to launch a business in line with brand standards.

For more information on franchise operations, check out these related articles on 1851 Franchise:

• The Ultimate Guide to Franchising Your Business — Phase 4: Launching and Growing — Ongoing Operations and Performance Monitoring
• Chapter 4: Creating a Comprehensive Franchise Operations Manual